Swiss police are examining video footage of the wingsuit jump that killed the
British stuntman who amazed the world by parachuting into the 2012 Olympics
opening ceremony dressed as James Bond.

Mark Sutton, 42, died when he crashed into a mountain ridge near Mont Blanc in the Alps at a speed of up to 150mph after jumping from a helicopter at 10,800ft (3,300m) on a wing-dive.

The former Army officer, who had worked in the City for more than 17 years, had been taking part in the first day of an event organised by French extreme sports online channel Epic TV.

He famously doubled for James Bond actor Daniel Craig for a section of the London Games curtain-raiser in which he and fellow stuntman Gary Connery, who was dressed as the Queen, jumped from a helicopter into the Olympic stadium using Union flag parachutes.

The area of Trient, Switzerland where stuntman Mark Sutton was killed in an accident (Limelight Marketing/Getty Images/PA)

Danny Boyle, who directed the opening ceremony, today paid tribute to Mr Sutton and said his death marked a “huge loss to his profession".

"In a brilliant partnership with Gary Connery they made the stadium gasp at the Opening Ceremony in London 2012 and left indelible memories for people from all walks of life all over the world," he told the Evening Standard.

Lord Coe, who chaired the committee which organised the London Olympics, said the death was "desperately sad news".

The tragedy unfolded after Mr Sutton jumped from a helicopter with his friend Tony Uragallo at 11am on Wednesday on a “warm-up” flight intended to last about a minute.

The men were both wearing three action cameras to film each other and their own descents.

Mr Uragallo’s footage, which has been handed over to the Swiss police, is believed to show Mr Sutton leave the helicopter before veering off course. The camera lost him seconds before he hit the mountain on the Swiss-French border.

A rescue helicopter arrived within minutes but the British stuntman was pronounced dead at the scene.

Skydiver Mark Sutton died while wing-diving in Switzerland (Facebook)

Mr Uragallo, who runs a company that makes wingsuits, broke the news of Mr Sutton’s death by phone to his devastated girlfriend, Victoria Homewood, 39, who was in Chamonix, half an hour’s drive over the border in France.

Wingsuits are special jumpsuits which increase the human body’s surface area, allowing users to glide through the air at high speeds before landing via parachute.

Mr Sutton, from Shere, Surrey, was part of a group of 20 of the world’s top wingsuit pilots invited to take part in the three-day non-competitive event in Switzerland and France, called Helibase 74.

Epic TV had paid for the participants’ travel, accommodation and helicopter flights in return for rights to all footage taken during the event.

Stuntman Mark Sutton, in the role of James Bond, parachutes into the Olympic Stadium (EPA)

A spokesman for Epic TV said: “Wednesday was the first day. A couple of successful helicopter flights had already taken place.

“Mark Sutton and Tony Uragallo were on the third flight of the day. It was 11am. The flight was an open-air warm-up flight. It was to last about 60 seconds.

“They were filming each other and Tony had Mark in view and then lost him. It is not known why.

“All other pilots that morning had been very conservative. They were all scheduled to do a lot of flights that day, Mark included.

“Mark’s accident happened about 20 seconds after he left the heli. He had not yet deployed his parachute, with which he was equipped for the landing.

“Tony, understandably, has chosen not to fly today. He has taken the day off. We completely stepped back and said it was for all the participants to decide whether to still go ahead with the event. They decided to go ahead in honour of Mark.

“Wingsuiting is an extreme sport and there are risks, just as there are with extreme skiing or Formula 1 racing. Accidents happen.”

A spokesman for the local Swiss police said: “He hit the mountain at a speed of about 250 km/h. There was no chance of survival. The altitude of the ridge was about 2,000 to 2,400 metres.”

He went on: “This was an accident. The production company and helicopter company are not implicated in any way.

“As soon as the identification formalities have been done, then the body will be released to the family.”

After his pivotal role in the Olympics opening ceremony, Mr Sutton said his clearest memory was of “freefalling and looking down at the Queen's canopy opening up in front of me".

Mr Connery said he had lost a close friend who was "smart, articulate and funny".

"In any sport where you share a common bond you can make friends in a heartbeat that last a lifetime. My relationship with Mark was like that,” he told The Sun.

He added on Twitter: "All you jumpers/flyers out there, stay safe, make wise choices and know your limits and your locations, live to tell your stories, one love."

&lt;noframe&gt;Twitter: Gary Connery - all you jumpers/flyers out there, stay safe, make wise choices and know your limits and your locations live to tell your stories one love&lt;/noframe&gt;

Mr Sutton was an officer with the Royal Gurkha Rifles from 1991 to 1995 before moving into finance. At the time of his death he was working as a consultant for RBS, according to an online profile.

Yesterday’s accident was the first time a wingsuit flyer has died in the Swiss canton of Valais, although there have been previous fatalities elsewhere, including a 24-year-old German enthusiast who was killed near Chamonix last month.

The Swiss authorities impose two conditions on the extreme sport, both of which were met on Wednesday: participants must have a parachute licence and must not fly in restricted zones, such as near an airport.